I was most interested in the descendants of Thompson Partch, Sr., one of the sons of Quinton Parch, but looked briefly at different lists of his siblings. One excellent source is Partch, collected and published by Steve Winant. In his introduction, Steve quotes an unknown source on the name itself: "Sometime between 1810 and 1820, Thompson Sr. and his seven sons changed the family name from Patch to Partch. The first change in the family name appears on the census for 1820 when it was recorded Parch. On the census for 1830 it is recorded as Partch." Aside from the contradiction there, this statement, like many statements in genealogy, is an oversimplification. Census evidence shows at least one "Partch" besides the line of Thompson; and Thompson's line itself varies almost without pattern between Partch and Parch. My guess is that they sound exactly the same; and since spelling was not the chief interest of the census taker or the individual, the name was written down either way without real reason. Only in 'modern' times did it perhaps become consistent.

Even the number of children varies from list to list. Winant, for example, makes 'Sally' and 'Polly' refer to the same person; and Winant lacks Rebecca. The birth order is also undetermined. I have not followed Winant's order because his does not seem to reflect date of birth but seems based on some other criterion. For a family whose child bearing years seemed to span 1748 to the 1770's, the number of known names known is small.